An ice sheet is a land based mass of ice that covers all of the topographical features on land and has enough mass to flow downhill. The ice behaves like a river of ice slowly flowing down its path. Glaciers and ice sheets contain most of the Earths fresh water. Both glaciers and ice sheets can only form in those areas where temperatures can get low enough and where there is enough precipitation for ice to accumulate. Most glaciers and ice sheets exist in the polar regions and in mountainous areas.

Glaciers and ice sheets are a large eroding force, carving out the bedrock over witch they flow. The Nordic fjords were formed this way. At the front side of a glacier a so called moraine is formed consisting of rocky materials and debris carried along by the glacier. When these rocky materials and debris are carried along over a long distance, these materials can be deposited in layers of boulder clay and erratics can be deposited.

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